Kazakhstan turns to high-value added manufacturing with building polyethylene plant it Atyrau region
Kazakhstan turns to high-value added manufacturing with building polyethylene plant it Atyrau regionUS sends armed drones to shield Libyan rebels
The US military will use armed drones over Libya for close-in fighting against the Qaddafi forces, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday.
Almaty. April 22. Kazakhstan Today - The US military will use armed drones over Libya for close-in fighting against the Qaddafi forces, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday, Kazakhstan Today reports.
President Barack Obama has authorised the use of armed Predator drone aircraft in Libya, according to Robert Gates, US defence secretary, The Telegraph reported.
A Predator armed with Hellfire missiles was launched for a sortie on Thursday but was forced to turn back early. The move is a significant escalation of American military involvement and will fuel accusations of "mission creep" and a potential Libyan quagmire.
"President Obama has said that where we have some unique capabilities, he is willing to use those," Mr Gates said. "And in fact he has approved the use of armed Predators."
General James Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said: "What they will bring that is unique to the conflict is their ability to get down lower, therefore to be able to get better visibility on targets that have started to dig themselves into defensive positions. They are uniquely suited for urban areas."
Mr Gates rejected suggestions that the drones and British and French trainers for the rebels meant that mission in Libya was expanding beyond its original goals. "They're not our boots on the ground," he said. "We never made that commitment for anyone else."
His announcement came ahead of a visit to Washington by Dr Liam Fox to discuss the US supplying more firepower to Britain in the war over Libya.
The Defence Secretary will be joined by Gen Sir David Richards, the head of the Armed Forces.
They will meet Mr Gates and Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the joint chiefs. Britain and France had been doing "all the heavy lifting in Libya" since the Americans withdrew their combat jets from Libya earlier this month, MoD sources said.
It is understood that the British want armed drones to patrol the skies above the besieged town of Misurata.
Nato has difficulty getting air power over the port town in time to hit targets. It takes more than an hour to fly jets from southern Italy, although they can remain overhead with air-to-air refuelling. There are not enough of them to remain permanently overhead "manning a kill box".
Air force chiefs are growing frustrated that Col Muammar Gaddafi's tanks or artillery fire a couple of rounds then withdraw before they can be hit.
Having at least three drones would ensure 24-hour coverage with the ability to strike almost immediately over Misurata, where bombardments continued yesterday. Dr Fox is also likely to ask about resupply of Paveway bombs and Tomahawk missiles. Both have been used in large numbers over Libya.
The trip has been planned as a Labour peer who is the UN's humanitarian chief criticised the dispatch of British military personnel to Libya to assist rebel fighters against Col Gaddafi.
Baroness Amos, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, suggested the arrival of senior British officers could "blur the line" between military and aid missions. Her comments prompted a sharp response from Downing Street which said they would help the aid mission.
A spokesman for No 10 said: "We have been absolutely crystal clear.
"The advisers are not 'forces on the ground'. They are assisting the National Transitional Council (NTC) with organisational structures, communications and logistics."
Lady Amos vetoed a plan to deploy up to 1,000 EU troops to secure aid missions.
Photo: Huffington Post
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